


a storm is comin' in

by HeartonFire



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Cabins, Canon-Typical Violence, Cuddling & Snuggling, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Hot Tub, M/M, Mentions of brainwashing, Sharing a Bed, Snow, Strip Poker, Tony Stark's Remote Hook-Up Cabin, Transformation, Unethical Experimentation, Weather-Related Transformation, cryptid, mentions of abduction, mentions of previous torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:53:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28187208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartonFire/pseuds/HeartonFire
Summary: Sasquatches don’t exist. Clint is sure of it. So what’s that fuckin' bigass yeti doing outside Tony’s upstate cabin in the middle of a nor’easter, looming ominously and ruining Clint’s plans for a quiet Christmas alone with Lucky?
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Comments: 11
Kudos: 48
Collections: Winterhawk Wonderland - 2020 edition!





	a storm is comin' in

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ChrissiHR](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChrissiHR/gifts).



> Winterhawk Wonderland gift for ChrissiHR. I 100% stole your prompt and used it as my summary and I hope you enjoy what I came up with! Thank you to [katherine_tag](https://archiveofourown.org/users/katherine_tag/pseuds/katherine_tag) for the beta read and all the help and support, and to [merelypassingtime](https://merelypassingtime.tumblr.com/) for talking me through the plot when I felt stuck!

Clint threw another log on the fire, the rush of crackling heat passing over his face as he looked out the window. As he sat there staring into the flickering flames, the snow swirled and the wind howled and Clint wondered if he was really prepared for this.

It all seemed like a good idea when Tony mentioned that he had a cabin way out in the woods that no one was using. Clint needed a break after the onslaught of missions in the fall. A quiet Christmas with Lucky sounded perfect. He’d somehow forgotten that it had been a long time since he’d been on his own like this: no tech, no Avengers, just him and his wits.

There _was_ tech, of course, but this was Tony’s cabin for weekend getaways with Pepper, so it was light on the AI and heavy on the mood lighting. There was even a hot tub out back, though Clint hadn’t tried that out yet. Even though he knew that he was the only one in these woods, he knew he’d feel a little too exposed sitting in a hot tub by himself. He’d do it, at some point, but he wasn’t there yet. It was so isolated out here, right up against the Canadian border, and it was so quiet and so dark that it was taking a while for Clint to really relax.

Lucky suddenly growled in the general direction of the window and Clint dragged a hand down his fuzzy back in an attempt to comfort him. Lucky got up and stared out the window like he was looking for something in particular.

“It’s just the wind, buddy. Nothing to be scared of.”

Lucky didn’t settle, pacing back and forth in front of the big window next to the stone fireplace anxiously.

“Well, I’m not taking you out in this,” Clint grumbled, staring out into the darkness to see what Lucky was all worked up about.

All he could see was heavy flakes carried on the wind and dark trees swaying and creaking against the storm, but as he squinted, Clint spotted something else. Something that made his heart pound unpleasantly in his chest.

Eyes.

What he saw were eyes.

* * *

Clint hardly slept that night, the wind and the cracking of branches keeping him awake. He’d dragged Lucky away from the window after he spotted the _thing_ , whatever it was, that was staring back at them.

He also slept with his bow clutched in his fist, but that was beside the point. In the morning, the thing was apparently gone and the snow had fallen thick and heavy all around the cabin. Clint still ventured out to look for tracks, Lucky bounding along at his heels and bow slung over his shoulder.

The snow was still swirling down from the slate grey sky and it was bitterly cold in the wind. Clint’s breath clouded in front of his face whenever he breathed and he adjusted his hat over his ears to cover them better. Shuffling through the drifts of snow, Clint took the opportunity to gather some more wood from the shed in the back of the cabin. He wasn’t sure who’d split it or stacked it, but there was plenty of wood for him to use for the rest of the week, so he wasn’t asking too many questions.

He felt a prickle at the back of his neck, like someone was watching him. Or something. Dropping the stack of wood he’d collected, Clint shifted into a shooting stance, pulling his bow across his body to aim at the trees. He stared into the mass of trunks, shadows shifting with the wind, and didn’t see anything.

And then something moved. 

Something big.

At first, he thought it was just a snowdrift blowing through the branches, but no. It was too organized, too fluid. Something was out there.

His mind jumped straight to bears, but it seemed even too big for that, and as far as he knew, polar bears weren’t known for migrating down to upstate New York.

But no. It couldn't be. The idea that it might be a yeti was preposterous. Yeti weren’t real. They were a myth, like the Loch Ness Monster or Mothman. Clint had seen plenty of wild things as an Avenger, but even for him, a yeti was going a bit far.

He’d believed in Bigfoot once, a lifetime ago. Barney had told him the story, whispered it to him from his bunk. Clint could still almost hear his voice, low and urgent as he relayed all the ways to fight a Sasquatch, how to kill one. Clint hadn’t slept for a week, until Barney had told him, laughing cruelly, that it was all made up. There was no such thing as Bigfoot. Barney was just messing with him, as usual.

Clint wondered what Barney would say now, if he saw this. He’d probably still laugh it off, tell Clint he was being ridiculous. And maybe he was. He looked again and the shape was gone, vanished among the trees like it had never been there to begin with.

Clint might not be sure of much, but he knew what he’d seen. He slung the bow across his shoulders again and gathered up as many logs as he could carry, whistling to Lucky to follow him back inside.

The fire had burned down to embers, so Clint stoked it and settled a fresh log on top, watching the sparks dance against the stone as it began to burn. Lucky stretched out in front of the fireplace with a yawn and Clint tried to settle in with the book he’d been trying to read for months now. It was a crime thriller, not usually his favorite genre, but Steve had recommended it and it was as good a way as any to pass the time while he was off the grid.

But he couldn’t stop thinking about the thing in the woods. He wasn’t scared, exactly, mostly just curious. He wanted to know what it was. He couldn’t get it out of his head. He reread the same passage three times before setting the book aside and staring at Lucky, who stared right back at him.

“Come on,” Clint grumbled. “Let’s get something to eat.”

He’d say this about Tony: no matter where he was, he always kept his kitchens stocked. It was true in the Tower and it was true here, though again, Clint wasn’t sure how it could be, given that he didn’t know how long it had been since someone had actually taken a weekend up here. Rummaging through the supplies, Clint pulled out a can of soup and started heating it on the stove.

Eating could only help. For all Clint knew, he was hallucinating from low blood sugar or something. 

That had to be it. Yetis weren’t real. There had to be another explanation. And even if it was, he wasn’t the world’s greatest marksman for nothing. He’d take it down and then sell his story to whatever tabloid would buy it.

He didn’t see the creature or shadow or whatever it was again, and the blizzard blew itself out by the next morning. 

In an attempt to prove his theory correct, and to give Lucky a chance to stretch his legs after several days mostly stuck inside, Clint took Lucky on a hike in the woods. If he just got out there and saw for himself that there was nothing but the usual squirrels and deer out amongst the trees, Clint could shake the residual prickles of fear and curiosity that still rose whenever he thought of that distinctly large shadow shifting between the trees.

Lucky didn’t care what the reason was; he was just thrilled to bound through the snow and snap at the birds he startled out of their nests. Clint watched him run and couldn’t help but grin. Getting out of the city was a good idea for both of them.

Lucky suddenly disappeared among the trees and Clint heard him whine a little. Hurrying as fast as he could through the drifts of snow, Clint found his dog nudging what appeared to be a body.

Yep. That was definitely a body.

A naked body. 

A naked body with a black metal arm.

Just as Clint was about to pull out his phone and dial 911 or maybe call Steve, the body stirred. The naked man lifted his head, clear blue eyes searing into Clint. He looked a little dazed, like he wasn’t sure how he got here.

Clint was almost entirely sure he knew who it was. What he didn’t know was why he was out in the middle of the woods in the middle of December, _naked_.

“You okay?” Clint realized what a dumb question it was as he said it. People who were naked and unconscious in the aftermath of a snowstorm were rarely okay.

The man mumbled something, shaking his head. 

“You must be freezing. Come on, I’m staying in a cabin near here. We can get you warmed up.”

The man shook his head again, harder this time, but he let Clint help him up. Clint kept his eyes fixed firmly on the man’s face, not letting them wander to any other parts of the very muscular body in front of him.

“Bucky, right?” The man tensed, and Clint was sure he was right. “Here. Take this.” Clint shrugged out of his coat, wincing against the bite of the wind, but at least _he_ wasn’t naked.

“Uh, thanks. You know me?” Bucky said, looking a little cautious as he took the coat from Clint and wrapped it around himself. His shoulder-length hair fell wet and heavy into his eyes as he looked down to zip the coat up.

“Sort of. I know Steve’s been pretty frantically looking for you since you disappeared from the Tower.” Clint realized, too late, that this might be dangerous. Sure, he seemed pretty harmless right now, but for all Clint knew, Hydra had recaptured Bucky and brainwashed him again. It was too late to turn back now, but Clint would definitely need to keep an eye on Bucky and make sure he wasn’t about to snap. Clint knew all too well how badly that might end.

Bucky shook his head. “I had to.”

“Hey, listen, I’m not judging,” Clint said, holding up his hands as he started heading back to the cabin. He didn’t love showing his back to the former, and possibly current, Winter Soldier, but he didn’t want to spook Bucky by being too obviously concerned either. “I’m out here too. I get needing a break.”

“Right,” Bucky said softly. He wasn’t following Clint, just standing there, looking down at his bare feet. Clint saw his toes wiggle against the snow and wondered how Bucky wasn’t completely frostbitten after spending a night outside in a brutal snowstorm. 

“Come on. It’s freezing out here. The least I can do is give you a warm blanket and some coffee.”

Bucky bit his lip, still looking unsure. “I shouldn’t.”

“Why? You got a hot date out here in the woods?” Clint didn’t want to mention the beast he’d seen, but he’d do it if that’s what it took to get Bucky back to the cabin and out of the cold.

“No,” Bucky said, cracking the barest hint of a smile. “You must have plans for the holiday.”

Clint raised an eyebrow. “Oh, yeah. Big plans involving me, this dog, and a bottle of whiskey.” He shivered. “Now, are you coming or not? If not, I need that coat back.”

Bucky shrugged and seemed to come to some kind of decision. “Fine. But I won’t stay.”

Clint started back towards the cabin before Bucky could talk himself out of it again, and he heard Bucky crunching along behind him. Lucky bounded ahead of them both, delighted at the prospect of a new person to pet and/or feed him.

Bucky hesitated at the door, scuffing his feet on the worn wood floor of the porch. He’d zipped the coat over his bare skin, but his legs were still exposed to the frigid air and Clint knew he had to be cold, supersoldier serum or not. His legs were also more than a little distracting to Clint, more tree trunks than thighs, if he was being honest.

“You coming in?” Clint pushed the door open as he cleared his throat and pulled his eyes away from the muscles of Bucky’s calves.

“Uh, yeah,” Bucky mumbled, stepping inside behind Clint. Bucky’s eyes darted around the space like he was looking for every possible exit route.

“Let me get you some clothes.” Clint wasn’t sure he had anything that would actually fit Bucky, but anything was better than being naked when it was this cold.

Once he had gathered up some sweatpants and a shirt that might not look ridiculous on Bucky, Clint came back out to find Bucky kneeling in front of the fireplace and stoking the fire. The room was already heating up nicely.

“Here you go,” Clint said, pressing the clothes into Bucky’s hands. 

Bucky looked down at them, blinking like he wasn’t quite sure this was really happening. “Thanks.”

“You can change in there.” Clint realized, as he said it, that there was only one bed in this cabin, but that was an issue for future Clint to deal with.

While Bucky was changing out of Clint’s coat and into Clint’s clothes, Clint decided to make himself useful and brew some coffee. There was nothing coffee couldn’t fix, even if the thing that needed fixing was the mysterious reappearance of the Winter Soldier just outside of Tony’s cabin in upstate New York while all of the Avengers had spent months looking for him. He’d vanished months earlier, dropping completely off the grid and becoming impossible to track. Clint was half-tempted to text Steve and tell him, but there was something weird going on here and he didn’t want to get Steve’s hopes up if Bucky was just going to disappear again.

Clint had met Bucky before, even spent a few months living in the same space. He still remembered the day that Steve first brought Bucky by the Avengers headquarters, just after Bucky had resurfaced. Clint remembered how sad and lost Bucky had looked. He looked similarly confused now, and it tugged at Clint’s heart. Bucky had mostly kept to himself while he lived in the Tower, but when he went missing a few months earlier, Steve was beside himself.

“Um, where should I put this?” Bucky startled Clint out of his thoughts and Clint reached for the coat Bucky was holding out to him. Clint’s gray sweatpants were pooled around Bucky’s feet and he’d rolled up the sleeves of Clint’s shirt around his elbows. 

“I’ll take it.” Clint hung it on one of the hooks by the door, shoving his hands into his pockets, unsure what to do next. “I’m Clint, by the way,” he said, realizing he’d never actually introduced himself. He’d been a little preoccupied with finding the lost Winter Soldier in the woods. 

“I remember you,” Bucky said softly. “The archer, right?”

Clint flushed. He hadn’t expected Bucky to remember him at all, much less with any kind of detail. They’d only interacted a handful of times. “Right.”

“You said Steve’s been looking for me?”

“Yeah,” Clint said, nodding. “Kind of desperately, honestly. Last I heard, he thought you might have gone back to Romania.”

Bucky ducked his head, but before he could say more, the coffee pot beeped that it was done brewing. Clint poured two mugs and slid one across the counter to Bucky. 

“What are you doing out here, anyway?” Bucky asked, over the rim of his coffee cup.

“Trying to have a quiet Christmas with Lucky,” Clint said, ruffling Lucky’s fur. “Not sure how well that’s working, but it was worth a shot.”

“Sorry to be disturbing you,” Bucky said. His eyes darted back to the windows, then to the door. 

“Oh, no, you’re not. I just keep seeing things in the forest. It shouldn’t be a big deal after fighting aliens with arrows, but I swear I saw something big out there.”

Bucky’s face went pale and Clint hoped he hadn’t found the thing that would make Bucky actually bolt. There was nowhere to go, and it was definitely not safe to be out in these woods with that _thing_ around.

“What did you see?”

“I don’t know,” Clint said, rubbing a hand over his hair. “Shadows, probably. But I don’t know. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this far out in the country.”

“Right.” Bucky didn’t sound convinced, and Clint tried his best to reassure him. He wished he hadn’t brought it up at all.

“Well, this cabin is definitely secure, so there’s really nothing to worry about. The worst that can happen is we run out of firewood.”

Bucky nodded, taking another long drink of the coffee. Clint led him over to the couch and Lucky jumped up between them to curl up against Bucky’s thigh.

While they sat, drinking their coffee, Clint returned to the pressing mystery of where Bucky had been and how he’d ended up here. He didn’t want to ask, in case it was something particularly painful or traumatic. He knew too well how much that kind of thing sucked to talk about, especially to some near-stranger. And if Bucky _was_ recaptured by Hydra, Clint wasn’t sure what might trigger him, so he needed to tread carefully if he wanted to get out of this cabin and back to the city in one piece.

For now, he’d sit quietly next to Bucky and not mention any of this. Even though he wasn’t entirely sure that Bucky wasn’t going to murder him in his sleep, there was something nice about having someone else in the cabin with him besides Lucky. The place didn’t seem quite so unbearably quiet anymore and Clint felt himself relaxing just a bit, despite himself.

It was definitely not going to be a quiet Christmas, but maybe that was okay. Clint had never been good at sticking to plans, anyway.

* * *

Clint didn’t see the creature, or whatever it was, again, though he couldn’t help but keep an eye on the trees. He and Bucky settled into a comfortable enough silence over the course of the evening and into the next day. Clint noticed that Bucky always faced the door, even when he looked mostly at ease. Clint half-expected to wake up in the morning and find the couch empty, Bucky nowhere to be seen, but he was there when Clint woke up, coffee pot already brewing and eggs cooking on the stove.

Bucky didn’t talk much, just curled up on the couch with one of the books Tony kept stocked in his bookshelves for most of the day. Lucky took to him immediately, nudging Bucky’s hand for pets whenever he was close by.

Of course, that didn’t keep Lucky from finding his way under Clint’s feet when he got up to get another cup of coffee. Bucky had gone to take a shower, and Clint took that as a good sign that he was relaxing, at least a little. 

Clint stumbled over Lucky, nearly toppling to the ground with a low curse. But instead of falling, a pair of strong hands closed around his shoulders and held him upright.

“You okay?” Bucky said, hair still wet and dripping into his eyes. He didn’t seem to notice, focusing all his attention on Clint. His eyes were bright and clear, and he was looking at Clint like he could see right through him. 

“Uh, yeah. Thanks.” Clint cleared his throat and Bucky let go of him, cheeks turning a little pink. “I don’t have a hair dryer, by the way.”

Bucky smiled. “Guess I’ll just have to find another way to stay warm then.”

Clint nearly choked on his own spit but tried to cover it with a harsh cough. He ducked his head to hide his surprised grin and headed into the kitchen for the coffee he’d meant to get anyway. Bucky followed a few steps behind him. Clint could feel Bucky’s eyes on the back of his neck. He wondered what Bucky saw when he looked at him. Clint had never felt like much: too lanky, too scarred, too weird. 

“You want some?” he said, holding up the pot.

“Sure. Thanks.” Bucky’s voice was low and raspy, and he was still looking at Clint like he saw something there that he liked. Clint wasn’t sure anyone had ever looked at him quite like that, and it was making him a little nervous.

He wasn’t sure why, exactly. Maybe it was the fact that Bucky was still largely an unknown entity to Clint. Maybe it was the fact that Clint still didn’t know why or how Bucky had ended up in these woods, unconscious and naked. Or maybe it was the fact that Bucky was possibly the most aggressively handsome person Clint had ever interacted with, and that included Thor. And he’d just flirted with Clint, Clint was almost sure. He was going to have to investigate this further, because this kind of thing just didn’t happen for him. Not like this.

Bucky went back to the couch and picked up his book again. It was one that had looked supremely boring to Clint, but he supposed a history book might be appealing to Bucky for obvious reasons. They settled back into their quiet mutual solitude, and it was nice in a way Clint couldn’t have expected. For all that he’d been looking for a Christmas away from the noise and bustle of the city, he hadn’t anticipated the peace that came over him when he was just sitting in the same room as Bucky, silently reading.

“Why are you up here?” Clint asked quietly, after hours of silence that was broken only by the soft thwip of pages as they turned and the creak of the branches outside when the wind picked up. 

Bucky shifted a little in his seat, keeping his eyes trained on the book in his hands. “Does it matter?”

Clint shrugged. “No. Just curious. It is a little weird that we’ve been looking for you and then you show up when I’m as far from Avengers Tower as I’ve been in months.”

“Can I ask you something?” Bucky said slowly. 

“Sure.” Clint could tell he was trying to change the subject, but he decided not to push it. Making Bucky uncomfortable was not the point of this conversation, so if he didn’t want to talk about why he’d been naked and alone in the woods in upstate New York, that was his business.

“Why haven’t you called anyone? Steve, or Stark, or anyone else?”

“Seemed like you might be looking for a break too.”

Bucky nodded, looking relieved. “Something like that.”

“Then we can have a quiet Christmas together, and if you want a ride back to the city after that, you can come with us.”

“Thanks.” Bucky cleared his throat. “Hey, you hungry?”

“Always.” 

It turned out that Bucky was a pretty great cook, even when he was just throwing together whatever he found in the cupboards. He made some kind of chicken soup that tasted better than any Clint had had before. Granted, most of his soup experience came out of cans, but still.

“Where’d you learn to cook?”

“We didn’t have a lot and my mom wasn’t always home, so I had to figure out how to manage on my own.”

“But this is incredible,” Clint said, ladling some more broth into his bowl. “I mostly know how to order pizza and make toast. And half the time I burn it, so I’m not sure that counts.”

Bucky laughed, and Clint was struck by how much younger he looked when he did, how much less burdened with history and grief. “That’s a start.”

“I’ll tell you what: I’ll make dinner tomorrow and you can see for yourself.”

“Deal.” The laughter faded, but Bucky’s smile lingered. He even set his book aside for a few hours and agreed to play poker with Clint.

“Are you some kind of card shark?” Clint asked, while he shuffled the cards.

“I don’t think so,” Bucky said, but there was a glint in his eyes that wasn’t there before, and Clint wondered exactly what he’d gotten himself into.

“Whiskey?” Clint asked, holding up the bottle before they got started. Bucky shrugged and took a glass. “Can you even get drunk?”

“Not sure,” Bucky said, swirling the whiskey around in his glass. “Let’s find out.”

The first hand went pretty normally. Clint had always been pretty good at poker, and Bucky seemed a little hesitant to play too aggressively. He folded almost instantly when Clint raised the bet. The way he was watching Clint from across the table was still making Clint nervous, but Clint kept his poker face strong, sweeping the Oreos they were using as chips towards himself.

“You sure you want to play?” Clint said, grinning.

“Just deal.” 

Clint won the second hand too, but Bucky didn’t seem terribly bothered. He was sitting back in his chair, looking as relaxed as Clint had seen him since he’d reappeared.

“We can play something else if you want. Maybe some Go Fish?”

Bucky scowled, but his eyes lit up dangerously. “You keep talking like this, I’m going to have to shut you up.”

Clint popped a cookie in his mouth before he dealt the next hand. “You’re going to run out of chips before you ever manage to shut me up,” he said, smirking at Bucky’s diminishing pile.

“Worry about your own chips, smartass,” Bucky said with a wicked grin. He poured himself another glass of whiskey and offered it to Clint, who nodded vigorously as he drained his own drink. “I know what I’m doing.”

No one had ever accused Clint of knowing when to quit while he was ahead, so he kept talking. “Well, in that case, I think we should make this a little more interesting.”

Bucky’s eyebrows rose curiously. “How do you propose we do that?”

“Strip poker.” As he said it, Clint’s brain caught up to what he was proposing. He wasn’t blind; he knew Bucky was a very attractive man, and more importantly, Clint was very attracted to him. They were also staying in this tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere for the next several days at least, and adding to the tension that had been building between them all day was possibly not the best idea he’d ever had. 

Bucky’s cheeks turned a little pink, but he nodded before Clint could take it back. “Yeah, okay. I guess you’ve already seen me naked, so what does it matter?” He paused, looking thoughtful. “How about this? Strip poker and the loser has to run outside and jump in the snow.”

“Okay, and then we warm up in the hot tub out back.”

Bucky nodded, extending his hand to Clint to shake on it. Clint grasped it firmly, feeling the calluses and scars that marked up even his serum-enhanced skin. 

By the time Clint was down to his undershirt and boxers, Bucky had only lost his shoes and Clint knew he’d been had. He was pretty sure Bucky had let him win those last two hands, too, which only made the feeling worse.

“I knew you had to be good at cards.”

“How?” Bucky said, with a grin as he took another swig of whiskey. He was already on his third glass and it didn’t look like he was planning to slow down any time soon. Clint was trying to keep up, but the whiskey was starting to go to his head. It was bad enough that he was mostly undressed in front of Bucky, whose physique was the textbook example of perfection; the last thing he needed was to really make a fool of himself by passing out or throwing up. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d done something dumb to impress a hot person, but given the circumstances, he was trying to contain his own reckless impulses as best he could.

“The murder stare, mostly.”

“Murder stare?” Bucky said, cocking his head to the side curiously. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you have this perfectly chiseled poker face and you sometimes get this look like lasers are going to shoot out of your eyes and incinerate everything in your path.”

“Maybe they will,” Bucky said, leaning a little closer. Clint could smell the whiskey on his breath and the sharp spice of the fancy soap Tony stocked in the shower. Bucky laid down his cards with a sharky grin and Clint groaned, tugging his shirt off over his head.

“I’m ready to admit defeat,” Clint said, shivering a little despite the warmth of the fire washing over him. Bucky’s eyes traced over his bare chest before snapping back up to his face and Clint shivered again, nipples tightening under Bucky’s gaze. “Meet you in the hot tub?”

“Sure, if you really want to quit,” Bucky said, smirking again as he sat back in his chair. “Go on, then. I want to see this dive into the snow.”

“Of course you do,” Clint grumbled, though he was already plotting the flips he was going to do on his way into the snowdrift. He figured Bucky wouldn’t see that coming and he wanted to get the upper hand at _something_. He’d felt off-balance since he found Bucky out in the snow. “Can you at least get the hot tub going so I don’t freeze to death after this?”

“Sure. How do I do that?”

Clint grabbed a coat and showed Bucky how to turn on the pump once they got the cover off. Bucky tugged at the sleeve of the coat and Clint shrugged it off, shivering in the icy wind. 

He could feel the heat of Bucky’s eyes on him and he started with a front handspring, transitioning into a cartwheel and then a backflip. It had been years since he’d used his acrobatics training like this, and he felt a little strain in his lower back when he landed in the snow, but it was worth it for the moment when he looked back and saw Bucky’s mouth hanging open. He applauded as Clint hurried past him and slid into the hot tub, still shivering in his now-soaked boxers.

Bucky shucked off his own coat, shirt, and pants, and Clint tried not to stare at any part of him, including the bright purple boxers he’d borrowed, as he stepped over the edge of the tub. Bucky settled on the side across from Clint, throwing his head back and staring up at the stars. He spread his arms out across the edge of the tub, muscles bunching as he flexed his fists and relaxed into the water. 

“What was it really like, back in your day?” Clint blurted out, when the silence had grown unbearable. Whatever tension was building between them was just getting worse, and he had to do something to break it.

“Back in my day?” Bucky said, with a tiny smile as he met Clint’s stare. His blue eyes crinkled at the corners and Clint noticed, not for the first time, how unfairly sharp his cheekbones were.

“Yeah. I’m curious. Steve won’t tell me any of the good stuff.”

“What’s the good stuff?”

“Parties, drinking, carousing, whatever you old coots got up to back then.”

Bucky’s smile widened and he shook his head. “I don’t remember much of it,” he said thoughtfully. “But I remember dancing with someone on the roof of a building in Brooklyn. It was snowing, but it was beautiful.” His smile faded and his brow furrowed.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up,” Clint said, guilt rushing through him when he realized how hard it must be for Bucky to remember anything after Hydra brainwashed him. 

“No, it’s fine. It was a long time ago.”

“No kidding.” Clearing his throat, Clint tried to think of something else to say. It was hard, when Bucky’s eyes were boring into him like that, like he could see right through all the bravado and all the confidence, down to all the insecurities Clint kept buried as well as he could.

“What about you? You go dancing?”

Clint grinned. “Sometimes. Nat likes to go out and she brings me along. We used to dance all the time in the circus, too.”

“You were in the circus? Doing what?”

“Archery, duh.”

Bucky nodded, but he looked skeptical. “I didn’t know that was a circus act.”

“It was in our circus,” Clint said, a little petulantly. “I can prove it.”

“How?”

“Let’s go. I’ll shoot anything you want.”

Bucky laughed, low in his throat. “It’s already dark, Clint. Why don’t you show me tomorrow?”

“Fine,” Clint said, stretching his arms out across the edge of the tub to match Bucky’s posture. “But I’m going to prove it to you.”

“I’m sure you will,” Bucky said, holding up his hands in surrender. His eyes flicked over Clint’s shoulders before returning to his face. “Is the circus also where you learned all those flips?”

Clint wasn’t sure he appreciated the change of subject, but he allowed it, because Bucky was right; it was already way too dark to shoot anything successfully. He stared out into the trees, wondering where that creature had gone. He still hadn’t seen it since the last snowstorm. Maybe it had moved on.

“What’s wrong?” Bucky asked, studying Clint’s face carefully.

“Oh, uh, nothing. Just thinking.”

“About?”

“You remember I told you about that thing I saw?”

Bucky nodded, shifting a little. “You see it again?”

“No, that’s the weird thing. Haven’t seen it since you got here.”

“Huh. Weird.” Bucky wasn’t quite meeting Clint’s eyes now, which Clint found strange. This was the Winter Soldier. He wouldn’t be scared of some mysterious creature. He’d faced much worse.

So had Clint, to be honest. And he was less worried about it with Bucky here.

“You ready to get out?” Bucky said, bringing Clint back to the present.

“Sure. Let’s go in. But remind me not to play poker with you ever again.”

Bucky laughed lightly and gathered up his clothes as quickly as he could, leaving Clint to trail after him, dripping water everywhere.

Once they were both in dry clothes again they settled back into the couch with their books, only looking up to pet Lucky and glance out the window at the pitch-black night. When Clint was starting to get a little sleepy, he looked over and saw that Bucky had fallen asleep, right there on the couch.

He looked younger in sleep, the lines of his face smoothing out and making him look almost like an entirely new person. His head was propped on the crook of his elbow and his hair had fallen over his eyes. The fire was burning down and it was going to get chilly, so Clint unfolded the blanket from the chair in the corner and settled it over Bucky as gently as he could. 

Bucky’s blue eyes fluttered open and he blinked a few times before he managed to focus on Clint’s face. 

“I thought you’d be cold,” Clint said, pulling his hand away from where it had settled on Bucky’s shoulder. 

“Thanks,” Bucky said softly, sitting up a little and tucking the blanket around his legs. 

“This couch can’t be comfortable to sleep on,” Clint mumbled, before he could stop himself.

Bucky shrugged. “I’ve slept on worse.” He stretched, borrowed t-shirt straining over his shoulders. “Not like there’s another option.”

“I mean, the bed’s pretty big,” Clint said. “Tony doesn’t skimp on comfort when it comes to mattresses. We could both fit.” When Bucky didn’t respond immediately, Clint tried to backtrack. “You can stay out here if you want. I just thought…”

“Okay. Sure. If it’s okay with you.”

“Yeah, definitely. Come on. Let’s get some sleep.”

Of course, as soon as they settled into the bed, Lucky curled up at their feet, Clint realized how long it had been since he’d shared a bed with anyone, much less a very hot and possibly still very dangerous former assassin. 

Surprisingly, Clint slept better than he had since he arrived in this cabin, waking in the morning with a clingy supersoldier wrapped around him. Bucky was so warm and Clint felt very cozy, though he was sure Bucky hadn’t meant to cuddle up against him.

Sure enough, as soon as Clint stirred, Bucky’s heat disappeared from Clint’s back. Clint turned and saw Bucky laying beside him, staring up at the ceiling.

“Sorry about that,” Bucky murmured, cheeks a little pink. 

“It’s fine. I don’t mind a little spooning in the morning.”

Bucky chuckled, shaking his head. “Good to know.”

“Come on. Coffee and archery contest.”

“Sir, yes sir.”

After brewing some coffee, Clint grabbed his bow from its place beside the front door. Lucky loped ahead of him, jumping through the snow with delighted yelps. Bucky leaned against the side of the cabin, arms folded. The sky was overcast, a shade of gray that probably meant another storm was coming. Clint had been so distracted by having Bucky around that he hadn’t kept track of the forecast.

“What do you want me to hit?” Clint asked, and Bucky shrugged, raising an eyebrow.

“What can you hit?”

Clint’s eyes narrowed and he loosed an arrow two inches to the right of Bucky’s head. It hit the cabin with a solid thunk and Bucky tensed, eyes shifting over to look at the arrow, which was still shaking with the impact.

“I’ll ask again: what do you want me to hit?”

“That was pretty impressive,” Bucky said, nodding. “But how about something with some distance?”

“What about that birch tree with the heart carved on it out there? You see it?”

“Sure. Hit the center of the heart and maybe I’ll buy that you were a circus archer.”

Clint could do that with his eyes closed, so he hardly even looked at what he was shooting at before he let the arrow go. It hit the heart dead center, but that wasn’t what drew Clint’s eye. Something shifted in the woods after the arrow hit its mark.

Clint’s first thought was that it was the creature again, but this was something else. There were several figures in amongst the trees, dressed all in black, and Clint was sure he saw the glint of a rifle barrel against the glitter of the snow.

“Uh, Bucky?”

Bucky didn’t respond, but when Clint glanced back at him, Bucky was glaring into the forest, eyes fixed on the strangers who were starting to approach in a loose formation.

To make matters worse, the sky was already darkening as a few wet snowflakes began to fall.

“Get inside, Clint,” Bucky said, his voice low and harsh.

“What? I’m the one with a weapon. You get inside.”

“I’m not kidding. Please, go inside and stay there.”

“I’m not leaving you out here to fight whoever that is on your own. Anyway, for all we know, they’re just hunters.”

“Hunters in all black, instead of orange?” Bucky shook his head. “I’m serious. Go inside, Clint.”

There was something in his eyes, something Clint hadn’t seen there before. Bucky looked terrified and that didn’t help mitigate the adrenaline already pumping through Clint’s veins.

The figures were getting closer, and Clint definitely hadn’t imagined the guns in their hands. They couldn’t keep up this stalemate if they were going to make it out of this alive.

“I’ll tell you what. I’ll check the other side of the cabin and make sure that no one is coming from that side.”

“Fine. Go.”

Bucky was actually shaking, and Clint was tempted to go back on his word and stay with him, but he forced himself to walk away. Bucky could handle himself. He whistled for Lucky and brought him inside, heading right back out the other door to find another pair of suspicious strangers moving stealthily through the woods. Clint grabbed for his favorite flare arrow and sent it right between them as a warning.

When it exploded, the figures stopped moving for a moment, leaning down to study it before starting towards Clint and the cabin again. The snow was really starting to come down, and if it got much worse, it was going to obscure Clint’s line of sight. If these guys weren’t scared off by a warning, Clint was going to have to disable them another way.

Just as he got one of his barbed arrows nocked, a thunderous roar echoed through the trees and Clint froze. The creature was back, and it sounded like it was on Bucky’s side of the yard. Before he even thought about it, Clint raced around the side of the cabin and stopped in his tracks when he saw a massive, white creature taking on two guys.

Sharp claws sliced through the body armor the agents wore and blood spattered onto the snow, staining it a deep red. The beast roared again and tossed one of the men against the trunk of a nearby tree. He hit it with a sickening crunch and fell to the ground, no longer moving. Bucky was nowhere to be seen.

Clint sensed the other agents approaching from behind him and whirled around to let his arrow go. It thudded into the first man’s shoulder. He cried out as he sank to his knees, tugging at the arrow, clearly not knowing that there was no way to get it out aside from surgery. Clint spotted the Hydra logo on his vest and his blood ran cold. Every time they thought they’d cleared Hydra’s last nest, another one popped up. As much as he hated to admit it, there really was something to their motto. He also suddenly felt much less conflicted about shooting to kill.

Just as he let another arrow go, this one destined for the next agent, Clint felt electricity racing through his body. He went stiff, collapsing to the ground as the shocks wracked him.

He vaguely registered another roar, and the crack of bones as the creature lunged for the man who’d hit him with the Taser. The electric charge stopped and Clint gasped for air, nearly choking on the cold as he tried to fill his lungs. Looking over, he saw the beast lumbering over to the other agent, and he managed to sit up and watch it circle the house once before coming back to Clint.

It didn’t seem inclined to hurt him, just watching him while he sat up gingerly. It had been a long time since Clint had been Tased, but it was certainly not an experience he was looking to have more regularly. 

It wasn’t until Clint really focused on the creature and looked into its eyes that he realized why it wasn’t attacking him but had gone after those Hydra goons.

“Bucky?”

* * *

Clint wasn’t coordinated enough after being electrocuted to follow when Bucky took off into the trees, but he sat in the snow and waited until he was shivering with cold, willing Bucky to return.

He didn’t.

When he’d regained control over his limbs, Clint dragged the limp bodies of the Hydra agents around the side of the house and went inside to find Lucky whining at the door. He gave him a quick pat on the head and stripped off his soaked clothes. He turned the shower up as hot as it would go and tried to thaw out a little before he tried to figure out what to do next.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Bucky. Why hadn’t Bucky told him what was going on? Where had he gone? Was he going to end up out in the woods, naked and alone, all over again?

After he toweled off and put on some dry clothes, Clint peered out the window. The snow was still coming down and he wasn’t eager to go back out in it just yet. Instead, he pulled out his phone and did what he probably should have done in the first place: call Steve.

“Hey!” Steve said, sounding especially cheerful. “How’s your holiday in the mountains?”

“Uh, I have to tell you something.”

“What happened, Clint?”

Clint told Steve everything, from the yeti sightings to finding Bucky to the Hydra attack, but when he got to his realization about Bucky, he hesitated.

“I’m on my way.”

“Wait. There’s more.”

“Tell me when I get there. If Bucky’s out there somewhere, I have to find him.”

“Steve, you don’t have to come up here. It’s snowing like crazy and I’m sure the roads are closed.”

“I’ll get there.”

Clint knew better than to keep arguing with him. When Steve decided on something, there was no changing his mind, especially when it came to Bucky.

“Fine. Drive safe.”

Steve grunted his agreement and Clint hung up the phone. Clint shrugged into his coat and grabbed a spare one for Bucky from Tony’s only stocked closet by the door, trudging back out into the snow with Lucky at his heels.

The snow had almost stopped, though Clint was sure it would kick up again later. The sky still looked pretty ominous, but the snow had stopped falling, and for now the only thing Clint was worried about was finding Bucky and making sure he was alright.

Lucky suddenly barked and darted ahead and Clint hurried after him. It was much like the first time they’d found Bucky. Bucky was naked and alone, face down in the snow. 

“Bucky,” Clint said, closing a hand around his shoulder. Bucky was still hot to the touch, despite the swirling winds and drifts of snow around him. Clint draped the extra coat over him and tried to get him to sit up.

Bucky didn’t respond immediately, but when he did, he flinched away from Clint, sliding back against a tree and huddling under the coat. He hid his face and Clint wasn’t exactly sure what to say.

“You should go,” Bucky said, voice low and muffled by the collar of the coat.

“No.” Bucky’s head shot up and his eyes cut through Clint like a knife. “I’m not going anywhere until we figure this out.”

“There’s nothing to figure out.”

“Uh, I’m pretty sure there is. I don’t know exactly what happened, but one second, you were there, and then the next, there was a big creature fighting off Hydra agents to protect me. I know it was you, Bucky.”

“And that’s why you should leave me here. I’m a monster.”

Clint blinked at him. “You saved my life today. I’m not sure I could have fought them all off successfully if you weren’t here.”

“They were here for me. They wouldn’t have come if I wasn’t here.”

“What do you mean?”

Bucky sighed. “I left the city because I needed a break.” Clint nodded. “I never planned to be gone so long, but Hydra caught up to me.”

Clint hissed out a low breath. “How’d they catch you?”

“Not sure. I just know I woke up in some underground lab not far from here and they were back to experimenting on me.” He shivered. “I broke out as soon as I could, but it was too late. I was already like this. Now, whenever it snows, I turn into a beast.”

“I don’t get it. Why would they turn you into a yeti?”

“I don’t know. Just to torture me, probably. Punish me for getting out the first time. Maybe they had some plan for me that they didn’t get to execute.”

“And they never will,” Clint said fiercely. “Okay, so we figure out how to reverse it.”

“I don’t think it’s going to be that simple.”

“Come on,” Clint said, holding out a hand to help Bucky up. “At least come back to the cabin with me for now.”

Bucky shook his head. “I can’t. It’s not safe.”

“But you won’t hurt me.”

“How can you be sure?”

Clint shrugged. “You didn’t hurt me before. I trust you” 

“Fine.” Bucky took Clint’s hand and stood, zipping the coat around himself. Clint thought he saw Bucky’s cheeks flush a little, but that might have been from the cold. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

“But I do.” Clint squeezed Bucky’s hand and led him back through the trees to the cabin. To his surprise, Bucky didn’t let go all the way back.

Clint wrapped Bucky in blankets after giving him one more set of clothes and got him some coffee, trying not to notice how tight Bucky’s shoulders were or how he looked about ready to bolt at any moment. Every time Clint looked over, he expected Bucky to have vanished, but he was still there. He was so tense he snapped the handle off the coffee mug, but he stayed. 

The sky darkened again outside the windows, and Bucky started clenching his jaw so hard that Clint was almost afraid he’d crack his teeth.

“I have to go, Clint,” Bucky said, starting to push the blankets off his shoulders with shaking hands as he stood and headed for the door. 

“No. Stay. Please. I trust you.”

“Clint.” Bucky’s eyes seared through Clint and Clint felt all the pain and rage and fear emanating from him.

Clint swallowed hard and decided to change his strategy. “Please don’t make me go back out there looking for you again. Besides, you’re wearing my last clean shirt.”

Bucky huffed out a shadow of a laugh and stopped moving. He looked thoughtful, like he was considering it, but when a massive shiver raced across his body, he shook his head.

“I don’t have long.” He sounded small and scared and Clint couldn’t help himself. He wrapped his arms around him and squeezed.

Bucky stiffened and didn’t hug back, but he didn’t move away, either. If anything, he sort of melted into Clint’s hold. Clint could feel Bucky’s heart racing in his chest and he held him tighter.

“Please, Clint.”

“It will be fine.” Even as he said it, Bucky started to shake again, harder this time. He shoved Clint away and tried to strip off the shirt on his way to the door, but he didn’t make it before his bones started to crack and shift and white fur started to sprout from every inch of his body. Clint’s clothes fell away from Bucky’s body, shredded and destroyed, and Bucky finished transforming. He looked too big for the room, head nearly reaching the ceiling. His eyes still looked wild, terrified, but Clint wasn’t afraid.

“I’m here, Bucky. You can stay.”

Bucky nodded, sinking down to sit on the floor next to the fireplace. Clint settled in on the couch and decided that he would sit up with Bucky until the transformation was over, however long that took.

He must have fallen asleep at some point, because he woke to the sensation of a claw tracing over his collarbone as Bucky tried to smooth a blanket over him. He startled and Bucky withdrew sharply. It was cold, even under the blanket, and the fire was just barely glowing in the hearth.

“It’s okay,” Clint said sleepily, shifting over a little to make room. “I bet you’re super warm. Come sit with me.”

Bucky hesitated, but joined Clint on the sofa, or at least he tried to. He was too big to fit on the narrow couch Tony had, so Clint slid down to the floor to sit beside him. He held himself away from Clint, but the heat of him was enough to lull Clint back to sleep in minutes.

Clint woke to the sound of the door banging open with a thud. He jerked upright, reaching for a bow that he realized wasn’t there. He’d left it by the door the previous night.

Bucky was curled around Clint, transformed back to himself, but still unnaturally warm and very definitely naked. He squeezed Clint closer to his chest, and they both looked over to see Steve standing in the doorway, eyebrow raised as he closed the door behind him. Lucky was jumping around his legs, looking for pets or treats, and Steve gave him a quick pat on the head.

“This is cute,” he said, smirking. His eyes widened when he saw Bucky’s bare legs poking out from under the blanket. Thankfully, Bucky had snagged some of the blanket to cover himself while he slept, but his cheeks still flushed and he wrapped the blanket tighter around his naked body as he loosened his grip on Clint and sat back against the couch.

“Shut up, Steve,” Bucky grumbled.

Clint grinned and stretched, settling his arm along Bucky’s shoulder as casually as he could. Bucky tensed again, but relaxed into the touch after a moment.

“You jealous, Rogers?” Clint said with a cheeky grin. “You’re welcome to join us. It’s warm under here.”

Steve shook his head, stepping farther into the room. “We have a long drive back to the city.”

Bucky stiffened. “What?”

Steve blinked at him. “We have to get you back to the city.”

“I’m not going back there. Not now.”

“Why not?”

Clint sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Steve, there’s something you don’t know.”

Bucky looked down, scowling. “It’s not safe for me to be in the city.”

“It’s not safe to stay out here when Hydra clearly knows you’re here.”

“I’m a monster, Steve. I can’t be around that many people. I could really hurt someone.”

“You’re not a monster,” Steve said, looking appalled at the very idea. “You’ve never been a monster.”

“No, I mean I literally turn into a monster. I don’t know what Hydra did, but when it snows, I can’t control it.” Bucky nudged Clint. “Clint saw it happen last night.”

Clint nodded, brain whirring for a solution. He knew that Steve had a point; if Hydra had sent a few goons, there were likely to be more on the way. They also weren’t going to figure this out in a cabin in the woods. At the same time, he understood Bucky’s hesitance to go back.

“Listen,” he said, turning to face Bucky. Bucky still looked wary, but he hadn’t moved out of Clint’s grasp, which Clint took as a win. “Why don’t we get you back to the city and see if Bruce or Tony or someone can figure out how to fix this?”

“It’s not safe,” Bucky repeated. “All those people…” He trailed off, frown deepening. Clint was sure he was imagining what he might do if he transformed in the middle of the street or something. He could see it in Bucky’s clear blue eyes.

“You can stay with me if you’re that worried about it. I think we’ve proved you won’t hurt _me_ at least.” 

Bucky stared at Clint for a long moment before he gave a shadow of a nod, eyes still fixed on Clint.

Steve clapped his hands together, startling Clint out of continuing to lose himself in Bucky’s stare. “Great! Let’s pack the car and get going.” He headed back out to the car but Bucky still didn’t move away from Clint.

“You’d do that?” he said quietly. “You’d let me stay with you?”

“Sure.” Bucky’s smile spread across his handsome face and Clint grinned right back. “Come on. You and me. We’ll figure this out.”

Before he knew what was happening, Bucky was leaning towards him. Clint’s eyes closed instinctively and he let himself get lost in the feeling of Bucky’s lips against his own when Bucky closed the gap. It was over almost before it started, and then Bucky disappeared, wrapping the blanket around himself as he hurried out of the room.

Clint sat there for a long moment, stunned, until Lucky started to whine for his breakfast. Clint rubbed a hand over his face and stretched, trying to convince his body not to hurt after the way he’d slept. It wasn’t exactly working. 

By the time he had the coffee made, Bucky had come out of the bedroom again, fully dressed in another set of Clint’s clothes and looking sheepish, a bag in his hands.

“This everything?” Steve said brightly, taking the bag from Bucky.

“Yeah. I’m completely out of clean clothes, so I guess it’s time to head out.” 

Bucky stifled a smile, but Steve didn’t seem to notice, whistling as he headed back out to the car to deposit the bag. As soon as he left the room, Bucky’s face fell. He looked worried, brow furrowed and frown back in place.

“I don’t know why I did that,” he mumbled, as Clint pressed a mug of coffee into his hands. “I’m sorry.”

Clint took a long sip of his own coffee. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“I accept that you’re sorry, but I’m not.” Bucky blinked at him. “You have a lot going on right now, and that’s fine. But I’m not sorry about that kiss. It was nice.”

“It was,” Bucky admitted, cheeks flushing a little.

“So, you ready to go back to the city?”

“Sure. If anyone can help me fix this, I need to find them.”

As he climbed into his truck, Clint wondered if maybe things had worked out exactly like they were meant to. He’d planned on a quiet Christmas, and now here he was, driving all the way back to the city on Christmas Eve, but somehow that was okay. He was going to help Bucky figure this out, and then they could figure out whatever they were.

Clint couldn’t remember the last time he’d been looking forward to something so much.

“Merry Christmas to me,” he mumbled to himself, stroking Lucky’s head as he settled in for the long snowy drive back to the city.


End file.
